Line by Line - Verse 10, Line 13

(The Tao) produces (all things) and nourishes them;
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Giving birth and nourishing,
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Bearing it, rearing it
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Starting a job and seeing it through,
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

Up to this point, I have felt that Legge's translation often is too wordy and frequently misses the thrust of the meaning. In this case, however, I favor his rendition over the others.

If we each come from the same source, how can we not be nourished by life itself? If we each come from the same source, how can we not nourish all around us?

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